Fly Fishing Zion National Park
Anytime you see this sign, you know it’s going to be a good day.
“We got the permit!” I rolled out of bed, still tired and jet lagged from traveling the day before, and flung open the curtains to our small hotel room on the 20th floor of the Flamingo. Amber light flooded into the room making my wife and I squint as we gazed out over the Las Vegas strip and the morning haze hanging over the dusty dry mountains lining the horizon. “Really!?” Jessica said excitedly, a wide grin appearing on her face. “Yep, now we just need to make it to the Zion Visitor Center before they close this afternoon to claim our permit!”
This would be our second time visiting the Left Fork of North Creek in Zion National Park. Famous for it’s upper canyon known as “The Subway”, North Creek is popular with landscape photographers, hikers, and canyoneers looking to explore this remote section of the park located a few miles west of the main canyon carved by the Virgin River in Zion National park.
The morning of, we awoke to crisp and clear fall morning in the watchman campground. An inky black sky filled with stars greeted us as we reluctantly extracted ourselves from our warm sleeping bags. Being late October, the sun was late to rise and we wanted to get an early start to maximize our time in the canyon. We quickly broke down our tent in the dark and made our way out of the park and started the 1 hour drive up Kolob Terrace road to the North Creek Trail head. As we ascend Kolob terrace, the rising sun bathed the red and white striped sand stone walls in golden light and revealed the brilliant fall colors of the cottonwoods trees.
After parking our rental car at the trail head, we quickly changed out of our warm layers and donned our packable waders and trail running shoes. Knowing that it was a relatively short but steep hike down to the creek, we decided to get fully rigged for fishing at the car and tried to shed as much unnecessary gear as possible before starting out for a long day in the canyon. The golden morning light gradually took on the fiery red color of the Zion sandstone cliffs surrounding us as we made our way into the canyon. From high up on the canyon edge, the cottonwoods tree’s below, now in full fall colors, lit a golden path marking the way to our destination for the day.
Rainbow Trout don’t reliably occupy the entire length of North Creek. From our experience, there’s about a 3 mile section of the stream that holds abundant numbers of trout. After making the steep descent into the canyon and reaching the North Creek, we started working our way up the canyon, visually prospecting any pools as we went. After about 30 minutes of walking, we came across our first deep pool with trout in it. From that point on, the action was on!
As the day wore on, we made our way slowly up to The Subway, noting any great pools we wanted to have a second go at on our way back. To our surprise, on our way back in the late afternoon, we found the fish to be more active and willing to take dry files.
On our first visit to the Subway back in 2014, we opted to make the top-down descent to get the full experience and see everything this area has to offer. On this first visit we discovered something else about North Creek besides it’s awe inspiring geology , it is filled with beautiful and hungry rainbow trout! After a long day hiking, rappelling, swimming through freezing cold water, and photographing the upper slot canyon, we ditched our wetsuits and climbing harnesses, soaking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun and prepared to make the final 5 mile hike along the creek and back to our waiting van. In speaking with a park ranger the day before while picking up our wilderness permit required for visiting North Creek, we learned that the steam hosts a small section of fish-able trout water and decided to strap an old fly rod to the side of our pack, not really expecting to us it. A mile or so after leaving the Subway, to our surprise we came across a clear sandy pool with a a small group of rainbow trout gliding through the tranquil water.
We suspect that due to the lottery based permit system required to visit this area and the technical canyoneering involved in making a top down descent, most people don’t bother trying fish this small desert trout stream. As a result, the trout see very little pressure from anglers and attack almost any fly that hits the water. For those willing to put in the planning and work needed to fish this stream, it makes for a unique fly fishing experience in this remote and beautiful canyon.
Visiting The Left Fork of North Creek
There are two ways to explore the Left Fork of North Creek:
The first option is a “top-down” descent of the canyon. For this approach, you leave your car at the Left Fork trailhead and hitchhike a few miles up the Kolob Terrace road to the Wildcat Canyon trailhead. Form there you navigate an unmarked trail that gives you access to the upper section of the North Creek drainage. Descending the canyon this way requires a bit of technical knowledge and gear for repelling and canyoneering as there are several swims and rappels down waterfalls. If you have the skills and gear needed to do this safely, we highly recommend this option as the upper section of North Creek is a truly spectacular and breathtaking taking place to experience. After leaving the subway you can get out your fly rod and fish almost all the way back to your vehicle.
The second option is a “bottom-up” approach where you park at the Left Fork trailhead and hike up the canyon until you reach the subway where further progress up the canyon is blocked by a waterfall at the back of the subway. After spending some time enjoying the subway and taking photos you return the way you came. This option is best for those visiting without the gear and canyoneering skills needed for the “top-down” descent of the canyon. It also gives you the opportunity to fish the stream on your hike to and from the subway. Having two chances to fish the stream can be really fun. We found the dry fly fishing to be much better on our hike out in the late afternoon compared to the morning hike in.
A wilderness permit is required to visit the Left Fork of North Creek. Do not attempt to visit this area without a permit. The lottery permit system used by the National Park Service is in place to protect this delicate ecosystem from overuse and helps this dessert steam to support a thriving population of trout. Plan ahead, be flexible, and be patient in waiting your turn to visit North Creek.
What to Bring
Below is a list gear we recommend bringing along for a “bottom-up” fly fishing trip on Left Fork of North Creek.
Patagonia Swiftcurrent Packable Waders
We love these waders! We’ve brought them on every vacation we’ve taken since getting them. Their small size make them supper easy bring along on any trip. The wader’s unique synthetic rubber booties are so thin that you can easily where them with an old pair of trail running shoes, allowing you to pack lighter and avoid hiking all day in heavy wading boots. In the summer months you can get away with just wearing shorts and shoes if you don’t mind getting wet.